Friday Kiss Tag!

Friday Kiss Tag!💖

Thanks for the tag, @the-golden-comet (here)!

Rules: From your Story/WIP, share a snippet of your characters kissing. It can be any kiss, from familial pecks on the cheek, platonic kisses, forehead kisses, to full-blown makeouts

Okay! Since I don't have many actual kiss scenes for my current main WIPs, I'll go with a scene that falls under the Familial Peck category (thus it is in no way shape, or form shipping, its just innocent sibling fluff)!

Mine's a both cute/fluffy and kinda sad scene as well, from my WIP Scrapyard Boys, so let's get to it!

Rhys fiddled with his fingers, leaning on the glass panel that surrounded the train's cargo area, watching the neon lights of the city below. From this height and the bullet train's speed, the multicolored lights formed streaks in the sky, as the vehicle flew by like a flash. After being cooped up in that hellhole some called a lab for years, this sight was quite splendid. And to be frank, any mundane sight that wasn't chalk-white walls and emotionless faces walking around like clipboard-holding ants, would be awesome.

Completely immersed in the view below, letting his mind wander absently for the first time in a long time. The soft hiss of the train cutting through the air outside, the city sprawling and swirling down below, the soft smells that filled the cargo space: a whiff of leather from the bags stacked around them, the familiar scent of fuel, even the nagging smell of plastic - he didn't know how much he'd missed this until now and --

-- A yelp rang out beside him.

The teen almost jumped out of his own skin, accidentally hitting his head on the glass beside him, hand flying into his chest as his heart skipped a beat. Startled out of his peaceful musings by the sudden, unexpected sound, Rhys snapped his head to the side, and he saw his twin, sitting there beside him.

He'd been so awestruck by the overwhelming freedom they were experiencing, that he'd forgotten - for the briefest of seconds -about Gwyn, sleeping beside him. Or rather who had been sleeping beside him. The source of the yelp became apparent as soon as he locked eyes with her, now harried, hyperventilating, clinging to his hoodie for dear life.

A nightmare - Rhys didn't even need to ask to know. He'd had his fair share of those too, and in fact, it was usually him who woke himself up screaming most nights. An uncomfy side-effect of spending one's teen years in a government lab trying to make superheroes.

"Hey, hey." Rhys placed his hands on Gwyn's shoulders, nudging her to look at him, "We got out, we aren't there anymore."

The girl crosses her arms over her chest, hugging her knees to her chest, with a nervous pout, tears starting to subside "I know that. I know that." Gwyn frowns, leaning her head on his shoulder, "But what if they take us back?!"

Rhys considers it for a moment. He hadn't thought about that, actually. And it isn't something he'd like to imagine. At least not right now. So he gives her a prankster smile, "Nah, they won't. If they try, we can beat 'em. We'll freeze the agents they send after us into icicles before they even know what hit them, and they'll leave us alone after a while."

She looks up at him, hesitant, wiping at her eyes with the back of her sleeve, "You sure?"

Rhys wasn't sure. But he didn't let it show. "Look around you," He gestured to their surroundings, and the beautiful sights of the glowing city below, "If we got out of that place, we can stay out. We can do anything we want, and they can't stop us."

Gwyn finally gives him a mischievous smile of his own, tear streaed face brightening up, "Then I want," The girl pondered for a moment, brows furrowed, trying to think of what she wanted to do with their newfound freedom, "- I want to have ice cream and eat all the candies we can find. Then make a huge bowl of popcorn and watch those cheesy horror movies you liked."

Rhys' eyes light up, and for a moment, he felt like that kid again, before getting caught up in all of this, "Good plan!" He exclaimed, practically giddy, "Man, I can't wait for us to find Adrien's place - then we'll convince him to let us buy all the ice cream we want!"

"Oh, don't count on it. If he's still the same cheapskate Adrien we knew, his pantry probably consists of energy drinks, chicken nuggets, and a day-old confetti cake from the corner store." She quipped, smile growing brighter as she snorted out a laugh, "Oh, and cigarettes, can't forget the cigarettes."

Rhys laughed despite himself, nodding with a sly smirk, and mimicking a talk-show host's voice and posture, "Presenting: 'Adrien Rosetrom' and his not-so-brilliant podcast on 'how to wreck your lungs'. But the million-dollar question remains - will our star's dubious lifestyle let him outlive young adulthood?"

The twins broke out laughing, both at the absurdity of his joke and the fact that it was, in fact, somewhat true - that, combined with the adrenaline leaving their system, led to a pretty manic mix. A few moments later, the duo settled down, taking a moment to catch their breath with a giddy sigh, tension and fear almost forgotten.

After silence filled their surroundings once more, the only sounds that remained were the whoosh of air outside the bulletproof glass and the soft, barely noticeable whirring of the train's inner workings.

Leaning back against the window, Rhys pulled his twin closer, holding her in a one-armed hug, and Gwyn scooched closer, peeking over him to see the cities below. As she looked away, his smile faded. Rhys forced himself not to think of the agents that might come after them. The white walls of the lab flashed before his eyes. Whirring machines, needles drawing blood, and screens monitoring their every step.

He didn't want to go back at all.

Pulling his twin closer, he found himself placing a quick kiss on her messy head of hair, "...No one's gonna find us again."

He said, partially to her, but mostly, 80% mostly, to himself. Trying, and honestly failing, to soothe the anxiety that had begun to rage in the back of his mind after her comment. In his arms, Gwyn hugged him back and nodded, now focused on the sights outside. Eventually, they watched the train leave the city behind, now flying over the inky blue of the ocean, spotted white by clouds, - a sight they'd never seen before, and which thankfully helped bring his mind back to more pleasant topics, for a moment.

Despite that, long after Gwyn had fallen asleep again, Rhys' eyes couldn't help but stay glued to the horizon line, burning, fighting against the tiredness he felt.

It all seemed too unreal.

What if she was right? What if they couldn't run away? What if... this wasn't real? What if they ended up brainwashed like Laserstorm? Spectre's perfect puppets? Rhys' mind raced with those thoughts and a thousand others, spiraling, stocking the panic he'd forgotten he could feel. And deep down, despite knowing that they had indeed gotten out, that they had indeed made the most of an insanely lucky error of their supervisor, he feared that he let himself close his eyes and fall asleep, they would wake up back in that stark white room once more.

Tagging (gently): @sleepy-night-child, @kaylinalexanderbooks, @smol-feralgremlin, @oh-no-another-idea, @littleladymab,

@winterandwords, @eccaiia, @sarahlizziewrites, @illarian-rambling

@agirlandherquill, @anoelleart, @ray-writes-n-shit

@writernopal, @anyablackwood, @unstablewifiaccess, @forthesanityofstorytellers

@i-can-even-burn-salad, @cakeinthevoid

@lassiesandiego, @thepeculiarbird, @clairelsonao3, @memento-morri-writes, @starlit-hopes-and-dreams, @the-letterbox-archives @differentnighttale

@wyked-ao3 and OPEN TAG

(Another) Writing Share Tag

Let's go with my newest side (twisted fairytale/dark fantasy) WIP, Crooked Fable, for this one!

(Context: This story starts out as a traditional Fairy Tale but then takes a turn and gets progressively darker and larger scale than usual fairytales lol. So you can probably guess what this scene leads up to doesn't exactly end well)

Nadya, the Queen, took a long sip of tea, sitting at the small, ornate table by the window as she spoke, a smile on her crimson lips, "I saw you with that... boy, yesterday, dear. You ventured out into the woods, did you not?" The girl, Maisie, stopped in her tracks, straightening out her flowy gown as the soft summer breeze flowed from the window into the small tea room. "... Y-You did?" She stammered with an awkward smile, mouth straightening into a thin line, "Well, he's my friend, we just went for a little walk." Nadya chuckled, giving the girl a matronly knowing look as she set down her cup on the table, "Oh, I'm no dummy, dear." She turned to Maisie with a slight shake of her head, voice percolated with sweetness, "You've been sneaking out of the castle for the past month every day - that, and I saw the look in your eyes," The Queen paused, tilting her head as she turned - almost imperceptibly - more serious, but still smiling, "We both know he's much more than a friend to you." Maisie made a surprised little sound, more akin to a squeak, and her cheeks flushed bright pink, "Oh." She fiddled with the hem of her glittering corset, "I'm not that sure yet." The girl bit her lower lip as if holding a lovestruck giggle, before being unable to contain herself and speaking out again, almost stumbling over her words she was speaking so fast, failing to notice the slightly smug smirk in her aunt's lips, "Well, Rory is indeed wonderful! He showed me the most beautiful meadow and we read books -" The Queen cut her off, "And he's a blacksmith's apprentice. Is he not?" Maisie deflates, voice shifting from joyous back to anxious in a flash, "Yes," She tilts her head, nervous about where this was going, "But why do you ask?" Nadya smirks, but this time all hints of matronly care and sweetness have left her expression, leaving the sight cold and calculated. "Because you are a Lady - my sister's only heir. And he's a peasant." She says with a distinct look of disgust, dismissing the word with a wave of her hand, "Whatever is going on between the two of you, it needs to end, my dear." The girl shakes her head, speaking through gritted teeth, "You don't know what you're talking about -" Her aunt cuts her off again, and this time, her tone is imposing and harsh, like the one she uses in Court to get other nobles to heed to her words. "Maybe not, but what I do know is that I will not tolerate my niece strolling around in the woods with some random pauper she met in the city! What kind of Queen would that make me?"

Tagging (gently): @sleepy-night-child, @kaylinalexanderbooks, @smol-feralgremlin, @oh-no-another-idea, @littleladymab,

@winterandwords, @eccaiia, @sarahlizziewrites, @illarian-rambling

@agirlandherquill, @anoelleart, @ray-writes-n-shit

@writernopal, @anyablackwood, @unstablewifiaccess, @forthesanityofstorytellers, @finickyfelix

@i-can-even-burn-salad, @cakeinthevoid,

@lassiesandiego, @thepeculiarbird, @clairelsonao3, @memento-morri-writes, @starlit-hopes-and-dreams and OPEN TAG

me ranting to myself about the parallels and relationships between my OCs (it's 1am)

Heads Up Seven Up

Thanks for the tag @the-golden-comet!!! I'll go with a snippet I wrote for one of the future chapters of Supernova Initiative that I've been working on!

・・・

Artemis stammers, trudging up to the other quickly and stopping right in front of the other, arms crossed, “I know you heard what I said, you dipshit.” He said, glaring venomously at the other, who simply stood there, a placid, mock-innocent smile on his lips as if he had no idea what the other was talking about, but Artemis knew he did, he knew him. He took a deep breath, “I’m gonna ask again, and you’re going to answer, or I’m gonna throw you right into that hail storm - can you just use your damn wrist computer to map out a path?”

He punctuated each of those words, being as painfully clear as he could get. For a moment, Kye said nothing in response, just smiled, standing there - and at that precise moment of silence, Artemis wanted nothing more than to deck him. Thankfully, for Kye’s sake, the other decided to speak. 

“Maybe I can…” His voice was cheeky, with a pseudo-sweetness to it that told Artemis that Kye was simply toying with him. The alien tilted his head to the side like a stray cat,  “If you ask nicely.”

Supernova Initiative Taglist (-/+): @ray-writes-n-shit, @sarandipitywrites, @lassiesandiego, @smol-feralgremlin, @kaylinalexanderbooks,

@diabolical-blue @oh-no-another-idea

@cakeinthevoid, @clairelsonao3, @sleepy-night-child

@thepeculiarbird

@the-golden-comet, @urnumber1star, @ominous-feychild, @anyablackwood, @amaiguri, @lyutenw

Let me know if you'd like to be added!

WIP Acrostic Tag!

Thanks for the tag, @the-golden-comet (here),and @thecomfywriter (here), as well as a few others I know tagged me but that got lost in my tags <3

My Word: HOPE, CLEVER

Your Word: ADORE

I'll go with my WIPs Supernova Initiative and Scrapyard Boys for this one! (:

H (Supernova Initiative)

He knew that wasn’t technically ‘asking nicely’- but as far as he was concerned, adding a ‘please’ to a sentence directed at Kye was as close to being civilized as it would get

O (Supernova Initiative)

“Of course there’s blood, have you seen this shithole of a moon?”

P (Scrapyard Boys)

Panting in discomfort, he tried his best not to look away, feeling his recent answer being scanned.

E (Supernova Initiative)

Eldora growls, striding forward with thundering steps that send a shiver down Kye's spine until she's standing over Damen.

C (Scrapyard Boys)

"Can you enlighten me as to how is that any of your goddamn business? ”

L (Supernova Initiative)

“Look, I’ve gotta get our new friend some help, I’ll explain that to you better a bit later, alright? Go on. Lead the way!”

E (Scrapyard Boys)

“Eh. You seem to forget that deals change, 'Ametrine.'"

V (Scrapyard Boys)

Valen rasped through bloodied teeth, before laughing bitterly, "If it wasn't for these stupid cuffs," He tugged against the metal digging into his skin, though knowing it was in vain, "I'd have fried your ass to a crisp by now, fucker." 

E (Supernova Initiative)

Every step sent a stinging jolt of pain up his leg, so much that at one point he almost tripped, and had to bite his lip to avoid making a sound.

R (Scrapyard Boys)

“Real cheeky coming from someone who still owes me 10k, huh?”

Tagging (gently): @sleepy-night-child, @kaylinalexanderbooks, @smol-feralgremlin, @oh-no-another-idea, @littleladymab,

@winterandwords, @eccaiia, @sarahlizziewrites, @illarian-rambling

@agirlandherquill, @anoelleart, @ray-writes-n-shit

@writernopal, @anyablackwood, @unstablewifiaccess, @forthesanityofstorytellers

@i-can-even-burn-salad, @cakeinthevoid

@lassiesandiego, @thepeculiarbird, @clairelsonao3, @memento-morri-writes, @starlit-hopes-and-dreams and OPEN TAG

HELLO I am here for Supernova Q&A!!! I love world building and planet building in scifi. Love to get in the weeds about it. Can you please ramble at length about your favorite aspect of inter-planetary politics? Specifically within the Khosmonian Galaxies (just to narrow it down). How is trade? Weirdest planet import/export? Is there a 'galactic basic' of sorts, or are politicians expect to know multiple languages? A fun little tidbit of world building that won't ever come up in the story?

Thanks for the ask, @littleladymab!!!!

Can you please ramble at length about your favorite aspect of interplanetary politics?

Absolutely!!!!

So, it's hard to pick a favorite, since there are a lot of different political angles and details that eventually make up the story's current political context, but here go a few aspects that I find particularly important, intriguing, cool, or haunting!

The Junction came to power centuries ago with the promise of bringing utopian-like progress to a galaxy in shambles after the downfall of an ancient civilization that had once ruled over it. And in a way - as far as the common citizens of the rich, metropolitan central planets and space stations of the Junction are concerned - they kind of did, in a twisted, flawed way. Their capital cities and main Stations are highly technological, clean, and supposedly safe, though that safety is maintained by the steel watch of the Junction Sentries (who are infamous for being particularly ruthless to rulebreakers). However, most of the other planets and moons under Junction jurisdiction do not bask in the same "utopian" reality as the main Stations and capital planets do. Most of the planets on the outer rims of the Junction galaxies, and those that compose the main bulk of the Junction's ever-expanding empire, merely serve as the feedstock that provides the main planets and stations under the regime with the resources they need to maintain their so-called Utopia, while those planets - the vast majority of the Junction galaxies - are strip mined, colonized and have every resource of their milked dry and sent to the main planets. This makes it so that this dichotomy causes a lot of tension in the population, generating a strong, generational hatred between settlers (the Junction) and the planets they conquered for resources, a pressure box that eventually breaks and culminates in the Civil War currently going on in the story.

The planet of Thalassen has infamously gigantic sea creatures, with some behemoths reaching almost 300ft with ease. Though it does have smaller, and even microscopic creatures, almost everything within its oceans is larger than it is in other planets, almost double the size. This makes for quite an interesting wildlife that lurks on the inky depths of the planet. Thalassen is located on the edge of one of the Khosmonian galaxies but is a mostly neutral or independent planet that hasn't sided with either the Khosmonians or the Junction, though it is eventually invaded by the Junction, which does seal its position against it. The population of Thalassen lives on giant, floating, mountain-like islands that fly/float scattered across the pinkish skies of this planet thanks to a gravitational anomaly (the same anomaly that allows its sea creatures to grow so gargantuan), and their cities are amongst the safest and most technological in all the galaxies, while they do remain close to their ancient traditions as well.

The Khosmonian Galaxies are by far much larger and much more ancient than the Junction Galaxies. They've been here before the Junction even existed and before the downfall of the civilization that preceded the Junction. They are a varied, culturally vast cluster of interplanetary civilizations. Due to their vastness, their galaxies are represented by chosen leaders that form the Khosmonian High Council, a political alliance between all the different galaxies under the Khosmonian Rule, and who represent the people, in theory. In reality, the members of that Council have become just as corrupt and belligerent as the Junction, eventually allying themselves to infamously murderous warlords like Eldora Thalax or even demanding weapons from AstraCorp, founded by the genius ye political extremist and anarchist, Zenyth Astrophell.

How is trade?

Trade depends a lot on which part of the galaxy we're talking about, but it is mostly a pretty crucial part of both daily life and politics in the galaxy. While there are far too many different exports and imports to explain here and they all depend on which planet, moon, or even galaxy we're talking about, one important detail about trade is that most of it heavily relies on the intergalactic portals built to facilitate the travel between the Junction and Khosmonian Galaxies and that while regular trade is pretty bureaucratic and heavily monitored by both governments, especially given they're in the middle of a civil war, there is a sprawling network of the underworld, black market trade that is controlled by powerful crime families on both sides of the war, most notably the Saphyr crime family, and almost every planet and moon - some more than others have some form of underworld marketplace where the smuggled goods and contraband are sold.

Weirdest planet import/export?

Hmm. Tough question!

I would definitely say that the Glow-Slugs from Cethea III, used in the traditional glow slug jiggly pudding of that moon and often considered a delicacy in a lot of other planets are among one of the most disgusting/weird/unusual exports in the galaxies, especially when considering that some of those Glow-Slug Puddings are literally made raw and with... still live, wriggling slugs?

There are a couple of others but my Insectophobia tells me the Glow-Slugs are the Top 1 Weirdest Export/Import of all time lmao

Is there a 'galactic basic' of sorts, or are politicians expected to know multiple languages?

Yes to both!!!

There is a galactic basic language that is generally referred to as "Common", "Basic", "Base" and other synonyms. It's used as a common tongue in most of the Junction as the Main Language and is widespread in most of the Khosmonian planets as well as a Second or Third Language, though the Khosmonians do tend to speak their native languages or dialects as a first language, differently than the Junction settlers.

As for the politicians: while all politicians from both sides are perfectly fluent in Common or at least have some form of automated translator device, most politicians, diplomats, figureheads, and generally influential people are expected to know at least three to five extra languages, especially those from the planets in their region of influence.

A fun little tidbit of world-building that won't ever come up in the story?

While the following tidbits/fun facts are at least mentioned or referred to/implied in the story, they aren't main plot points so I think it counts! Here it goes:

Zatrians - the native species of the planet Deimos Soll comes from - have mammalian-like biology but are born from actual eggs, which are incubated in communal Nests, that are beloved and protected by the community as a whole. The species is also known for practicing alloparenting, and the hatchlings/kids of a certain Nest consider each other as Nestmates (best friends/surrogate siblings) regardless of whether or not they come from the same bloodline until they come of age.

The dwarf planet of Stryxus has fungi/mushrooms instead of trees in its sprawling tropical forests and some of those fungi species can be as tall as some skyscrapers.

This is actually important to the plot but it is really cool so I'll mention it: sentient robots, despite being fully made of artificial materials and synthetic imitations of organic matter, actually are capable of feelings and complex decision-making if they are freed from their original programming (like Meridian Shardd did), and cyborgs, while often confused with sentient robots, are traditionally humanoid alien/human beings like any other that "upgraded/added" cybernetic implants to their naturally organic body gradually, so cyborgs are a mesh of metallic servos and actual organic flesh.

Sad Fact: Individuals of the Melieth species have special neural connections to those they share blood with. This means they can communicate to their family members telepathically and also sense what they're feeling as if it's their own emotions/sensations. This unfortunately means Kid!Vesper not only witnessed Atherys' torture but also may have physically felt some of it as if it were her that was in pain, because of their neural connections as Melieth siblings.

Supernova Initiative Taglist (-/+): @ray-writes-n-shit, @sarandipitywrites, @lassiesandiego, @smol-feralgremlin, @kaylinalexanderbooks,

@diabolical-blue @oh-no-another-idea

@cakeinthevoid, @clairelsonao3, @sleepy-night-child

@thepeculiarbird

@the-golden-comet, @urnumber1star, @ominous-feychild, @anyablackwood, @amaiguri

Let me know if you'd like to be added!